Japanese navy takes command of its most complex major war games yet
Japan leads flotilla in war exercises as US pushes for greater defence role
Military exercises involving a massive flotilla of two dozen destroyers, described as the most complex war games ever overseen by the Japanese navy, took place this week as the country steps up its role in such large-scale drills with the United States.
The Keen Sword exercises - involving more than 30,000 Japanese troops and 11,000 US personnel - come as Washington continues to encourage Tokyo to take a greater share of the defence burden, especially as China's military modernises rapidly.
Rear Admiral Hidetoshi Iwasaki commanded the flotilla, which included American ships, in the Pacific Ocean south of the Japanese mainland during the exercises, which are held every other year.
Iwasaki, a commander of a Japanese Self Defence Force escort flotilla, played a more prominent role than his predecessors in previous Keen Sword drills, beginning months ago with the formulation of battle plans and culminating in an unexpected event during the highly scripted games, officials said.
His main task was to guard America's prize military asset in Asia, the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George Washington, from surface and undersea threats.
"It is the largest and most complex operation in which a (Japanese naval officer) has been the sea combatant commander," said Rear Admiral John Alexander, commander of the George Washington battle force.
The George Washington battle group is the most potent maritime force in Asia and the heart of the US Seventh Fleet.